The present invention relates to a grounding panel and more particularly to a grounding panel having a variable length connector assembly that grounds electrical charges that are received and transmitted through a cable to electrical components and communications equipment.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art system. In one prior art system, two separate copper plates 112, 114 would be fixed to a shelter wall 192, one plate 114 being attached to the inside of the shelter wall 192 and one plate 112 being attached to the outside of the shelter wall 192. A transmission line 130 is then positioned through the shelter wall 192. Each plate 112, 114 requires an independent set of wires, switches, and connections to ground 170. Transmission line 130 is connected to plates 112, 114 using wires 116. A surge suppressor 100 may be placed along the transmission line 130 and connected to wires 116. Wires 118 are used to connect plates 112, 114 to ground 170. The transmission line 130 utilizes one set of wires for the connections to plate 112 and another set of wires for the connections to plate 114. Also, the wire lengths must be customized for a range of wall thicknesses. In addition, each plate 112, 114 must be separately installed and aligned on the shelter wall 192. Separate installation and alignment of each plate requires additional time and resources resulting in inefficiencies. Also grounding wire 118 causes high impedance reducing effectiveness of the grounding plates 112, 114.
Additional costs and maintenance expenses are incurred when using additional wires, switches, and connections. Furthermore, reliability is reduced when the amount of wires, switches, and connections are increased.
Ideally, what is needed is a grounding panel having a variable length connector assembly that bonds inside and outside panels with a low impedance electrical connection.